


breakfast of champions

by braithwaites



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Mass Effect 3: Citadel, Minor Miranda/Ashley, Minor Traynor/EDI
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-15
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2019-03-05 07:51:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13383411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/braithwaites/pseuds/braithwaites
Summary: “Jane.”The voice was quiet at the edge of Shepard's mind, like someone tiptoeing through her heavy, dreamless sleep. Not enough to wake her up, but enough to start the process.





	breakfast of champions

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alivelesbian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alivelesbian/gifts).



> This was written for Mass Effect Holiday Cheer for tumblr user lesbianically / alivelesbian!

“Jane.” 

The voice was quiet at the edge of Shepard's mind, like someone tiptoeing through her heavy, dreamless sleep. Not enough to wake her up, but enough to start the process. 

A rustle, a dip in the bed. 

“Jane,” closer than before, with a hand on her shoulder, gently shaking her, nudging her awake. That much helped a little, and her lips parted. She gave a quiet half-snort and turned towards the sound. “I'm sorry for waking you up, but it is for an important reason.” 

“Nnngh?” 

Liara laughed under her breath, quiet enough not to wake anyone else in the spacious apartment. The crew of the Normandy was scattered all around, sleeping off the edge of the night before. 

Everyone except for her, and now Shepard. 

“Your stomach was growling,” she continued. “We should get something for you to eat.” 

Shepard felt a perfect hand on her stomach, rubbing equally perfect circles over the tank top she wore. Only after a while of enjoying the feeling did Shepard open up her eyes and look up at her. 

Squint up at her. 

No matter what hour it was, Liara always looked perfect. There were numerous upsides to not having to brush your hair. Or your head-tentacles. There wasn't a moment when she didn't look perfectly coiffed. And now, she was smiling, too, which just made her even prettier. 

“Mmm, are you -” Shepard smacked her lips. Her mouth was dry down to her teeth. She could only imagine how bad her breath must smell after a night of drinking and then a  _lot_ of sleeping. One brow furrowed while the other twitched uselessly. “Are you hungry?” 

Liara leaned forward and pressed a kiss right between Shepard's knitted brows. “Starving.” 

Getting out of bed was a struggle, but Shepard was rewarded with a gorgeous view over the balcony outside of her bedroom. The living room was full of pink and orange lights from storefronts and passing traffic, diffused by the texture of the glass to make the coloring look almost like a sunrise. 

Joker was crashed on one of the couches with Miranda reclined near his feet. Propped up on a pillow resting on EDI's knees was Samantha, smiling to herself in the middle of what appeared to be a very nice dream. Ashley was sleeping sitting up with one arm slung around one of the ottomans, her fingers curled around the neck of an empty bottle. 

So last night really had been the party of a lifetime. The entire apartment smelled of spirits and cleaning solution and... eggs, strangely enough, as well as the sounds of cooking. 

Shepard scrubbed a hand over her face before bringing the same one through her hair. “Someone up already?” she asked, still bleary-eyed. 

Liara lifted her arms above her head and gave a lengthy stretch. She hadn't had nearly as much to drink during the party. In fact, she'd been sober enough at the time to feed her girlfriend enough water before bed to ward off dehydration. 

“I believe James had plans to prepare a meal for us this morning.” 

“Grab us a plate?” Shepard looped an arm around Liara's waist and drew her in close enough to give her a careful kiss at the corner of her mouth. “I'm gonna go rinse my mouth out.” 

Liara arched a brow at her. “With...?” 

“With water,” Shepard said with a laugh, holding both hands up as she stepped back towards her bedroom's en suite. “I swear.” 

They separated with a smile. All it took was a mouthful of water for Shepard to feel so much better. She made a basin from her joined hands and splashed the gathered water into her face before dragging her soaked fingers through her hair, smoothing it all back away from her face. 

Then, and only then, was she ready for breakfast. 

To no one's surprise, James Vega could cook a hell of a plate of eggs. Shepard and Liara both settled down in a nook just beside the window, seated so close they touched from knee to shoulder with just enough room to maneuver their forks. 

Picking up one of the slices of bacon, Shepard crunched into the crisper end and leaned back with a sigh. “I love bacon,” she hummed. “Is there anything better?” 

“These eggs,” Liara was quick to tell her as she skewered another bite of what looked like a fluffy yellow cloud. 

Shepard had been distracted by the foodstuff on her plate, but seeing Liara shovel a giant bite of her breakfast into her mouth, far and away enough to puff out her cheek, was enough to stop her in her tracks. Too damn cute. 

In the glow from the window, she looked lilac rather than blue. The shadow darkened her freckles, making them even more obvious over the bridge of her nose and the tops of her cheeks. 

“You're better, too,” Shepard said, dumbly. 

Liara's eyes widened, and she brought her hand to her mouth to keep herself from choking as she chewed. And to keep Shepard from looking directly at her as she did. Once she swallowed, her head drifted to the side, and she smiled. 

“I'm better than these eggs?” She laughed. The sound was like bells. Paired with the drumbeat of Shepard's heart, they were a two-man show. 

Dropping the rest of her bacon onto the plate and wiping the lingering grease off of her fingers (and onto her sweats), Shepard reached over and gathered up Liara's face in the palm of her hand. She thumbed over her bottom lip. 

“God, you are  _so much better_  than eggs.” 

Across the room, there came a shout of, “Who's better than my eggs!?” 

Shepard laughed halfway to kissing her, head falling down against Liara's shoulder. Figures. Maybe it was all for the best, considering she had booze-breath layered with bacon-breath. 

To Shepard's surprise, Liara shouted back, even though she could barely contain her own laughter. “I am!” 

On the other side of the apartment, Ashley groaned. Joker whispered weakly for everyone to shut up. EDI said something about everyone keeping their voice down. There was no waking them all up. If bacon couldn't do it, nothing would. 

Things would get back to normal in a few hours. They would remember why they partied so hard. They would go back to protecting the galaxy. They would go back to being scared, treading water that threatened to drown them on an almost daily basis. They would go back to that by the end of the day. 

But for now, Samantha nuzzled her cheek against EDI's warm, almost pliant protective shell. For now, Miranda rose from the couch and gently pried Ashley's hand from around the neck of the bottle. 

But for now, Shepard curled her arm around Liara's waist and pulled her close. 

For now, they could be in love, or falling in love. 

For now, they could be happy. 


End file.
